After much deliberation I purchased the ETS Reef Devil 3 protein skimmer by AE Technology. I was torn between the Reef Devil, a Red Sea Berlin, and the TurboFloater. I settled on the RD3 because I decided I wanted what I believed to be the best skimmer in the price range. The following is a product review and a recounting of my experiences with the RD3.

When you open the box you will find that little assembly is required. All you need to do is attach the output gate valve and place the included bioballs (22 of them) in the mixing tower. The RD3 version I purchased is for sump operation and I attached it to a Sen 700 water pump. One thing to note is that even though the RD3 is supposed to be design for either in sump or standalone use, it can realistically only be used in sump because of the design of the mixing tower. The water/air input flange connects to the mixing tower via a loose press fit. This joint will leak water and therefore will prevent standalone use. On the positive side the 22 inch tall RD3 will fit nicely under a standard AGA 28 inch pine stand.

I'm going to start right off and state that the RD3 is not a skimmer for beginners. If you are like me and had never seen a skimmer in operation then it's my opinion that the RD3 is too difficult to set up for the novice. Even with plenty of help via the internet I spent two frustrating weeks of tweaking and overflowing and tweaking and nothing and then overflowing again. During that time I tried to contact AE Tech on several occasions and found that the toll free number listed for contact was answered by a fax and there was no answer at the toll number.

The instructions included for adjustment are quite basic and not informative enough for the novice. First off, I had to throttle back my Sen 700 in order to keep the water level in the skimmer at the recommended level. The instructions state that the skimmer can take a week or more to «break in». I played with mine for over two weeks and could not get it adjusted. I tried raising the RD3 in the sump, plumbing the output to create a siphon, and running with the gate valve wide open but nothing worked. At this point I was very frustrated with it and a fellow reefer I met on IRC suggested that I try increasing the number of bioballs so that it would reduce the air intake and allow me to increase the water flow through it. I added 6 more bioballs , which allowed me to open up the restricted input from the Sen and within 10 minutes I was making dry foam. The secret was reducing the air intake. If you would like more information on what I tried and what was and wasn't successful for me, feel free to email me at bespo@cereal.mv.com.

The RD3 then started making plenty of dry foam and accumulating a lot of organics on the neck and cup, it seems to be working fine. One drawback with the RD3 I've noticed both from my experience and by talking with others is that it is very sensitive to the water level in the sump. A change of ½ inch, which in my sump is equal to less than a half gallon, will cause a marked change in the adjustment and resultant skimming efficiency.

I have found that the skimmer operates efficiently when adjusted to create the fine foam at about 1 inch above the black sump box. At this level I get a light scum accumulation starting about 1 inch below the cup flange, with the cup collecting the foam and large amounts of scum. My cup goes from clean to opaque with scum in about 3-4 days. Unlike other skimmers, the RD3 produces white foam, not brown. The skimmate varies in both quantity and color, the color anywhere from a light tea to black coffee.

** UPDATE **
Here's some adjustment instructions that work, for me and for others I've provided them to.

1. Raise skimmer or lower sump water level until sump water is no higher than the a quarter inch below the bottom of the Gate Valve output opening.

2. With pump running, pinch closed the collection cup output drain fitting. this should stop all foaming.

3. With the drain pinched closed and no foam being generated, adjust the throttle valve on the Pump so that the water level in the RD3's black sump is between 1.5" and 2" *below* the top of the black sump, make this adjustment by looking down the riser hole into the sump.

4. Once this is done, just let it sit there and churn, you should see foam start to slowly rise above the black sump and into the riser.

** END UPDATE **

A side note is that the RD3 produces a lot of stinky air and an output overflow/ar filter is recommended. You can buy it from AE Technology for about $160.00, or you can make one yourself. See my plans at http://cerealport.net/overflowplans.html

After all that the Reef Devil 3 seems to be working fine. I added a Reef-Filler top-off system to keep the sump level constant and it seems to have made the RD3 more stabile. Would I buy one again. No, I don't think so. It was and still is very fussy and in my opinion not worth the large price tag.

Contact A.E.Technology 914-838-9044

Happy Reefkeeping

Bill Esposito